Editor’s note: Following the film aired on African Independent Television (AIT) Emeka
Umeagbalasi hold an investigation of buildings worth billions of naira located
within and beyond Lagos State supposedly acquired and owned illicitly by
referenced former Lagos Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The views expressed in this
article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial
policy of Naij.com from where this article was obtained.
Story highlights:
- The Nigeria’s biggest landlord
- Beyond the threat of lawsuit
- Are these properties exist in the country and
in areas they are said to be located?
- Is Tinubu Mr Clean or not?
Oriental Hotel, Falomo Shopping Complex, First
Nation Airline, Private Jets, Lekki Concession Company, Apapa Amusement Park,
the Renaissance Hotel, the Radio Continental, the TV Continental, the Nation
Newspaper, Ikeja Shopping Mall, Alpha Beta (IGR collectors), ownership of
Tejuoso Market, School of Nursing & NNPC buildings, N4B property located at
the Queens Drive, Lagos and other choice properties worth billions of naira
located within and beyond Lagos State allegedly acquired and owned illicitly by
referenced Tinubu Ahmed.
Oriental Hotel in Lagos
These, according to the referenced broadcast, have earned the referenced citizen a satirical name – “the Nigeria’s biggest landlord”. The law chambers and offices of frontline lawyers and rights activists in Lagos State were also said to have been quartered in some of the referenced illicit choice properties in the State.
While the right of every Nigerian including the referenced potential libel litigant to approach a court of law in the event of any damage or harm to his or her name or reputation is constitutionally guaranteed; it is our considered view that the matter under reference goes beyond issuance of threat of lawsuit. By writing to the Management of AIT and threatening same with multi billion naira lawsuit of libel, the referenced Tinubu Ahmed is making Nigeria and Nigerians to believe that he is “Mr. Clean” who goes to the equity with clean hands.
The referenced letter of his also demonstrates that he is stainless and impeccable in character as well as incorruptible; that from the time he was a top public office holder in Nigeria till date, he lived and still lives within his legitimate incomes including the spent and unspent legitimate allowances he was paid as a top public office holder.
It further demonstrates that he has never stolen or
criminally diverted public funds for private possession or ownership; and that
his present incomes and properties (if any) are in commensuration with pieces
of information contained in his asset declaration form filled and
submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau when he contested for the said
public office in 1999
CAD view of
Falomo shopping center
Our informed questions are: are these properties
exist in the country and in areas they are said to be located? If they exist,
who acquired and own them? How much did the referenced Tinubu Ahmed worth in
1999 as declared and known to the Code of Conduct Bureau and how much does he
worth today? As a former top public office holder from 1999 to 2007, what was
his total salaries and allowances in accordance with relevant provisions of the
Salaries & Allowances for Top Public Office Holders Act of the Federation
of Nigeria 2002 as amended in 2008? To instruct private solicitors to cause a letter of threat of lawsuit of libel to be addressed to a media outfit is not enough because sometimes court processes are used to cover social ills and intimidate whistle blowers to unceremonious silence and submission. This explains why we held that the reference matter goes beyond issuance of letter of threat of lawsuit of libel. The referenced Tinubu Ahmed owes Nigerians detailed and convincing public explanations, not just mere threat of lawsuit or lawsuit proper.
One of
Tinubu’s private jets
For Nigerians to be convinced that the referenced
citizen is clean, incorruptible and impeccable and knows nothing directly or
indirectly about the grave allegations under reference, he should come clean
publicly and deny publicly too that he has nothing to do with the properties
under reference directly or indirectly. The referenced citizen also owes
Nigerians moral and legal obligations by publicly disclosing the totality of
his legitimate salaries and allowances or those known to the law and
Constitution of Nigeria from June 1999 to May 2007 when he held sway as a top
public office holder.The public disclosures being demanded will include how much he collected as severance allowances; how much he spent of the entire salaries and allowances in eight years as well as the remainder and their whereabouts till date. Part of the public disclosures will be to mention and identify company or companies and properties (if any) he owned prior to 1999 and their locations as well as those under his name and ownership from 2007 till date. The public disclosure of pre 1999 properties/companies (if any) should also include accrued profits and losses till date.
Ikeja shopping
mall
It is only when the foregoing is dutifully,
convincingly and publicly disclosed by the referenced Tinubu Ahmed that
Nigerians will agree beyond further doubts that he is indeed Mr. Clean and an
equity seeker with clean hands.
Also if the foregoing is done as publicly being
demanded, the Management of AIT will bury its head in shame and lose its
teeming viewers and supporters; even though the grave allegations were first
made in 2012 by then Vice Chairman for Southwest (Segun Oni) of one of the
registered political parties in Nigeria called PDP (source: Frontier News
2012).
But if the contrary becomes the case, then Nigerians will be left with no other option than to assert conclusively and rightly that the allegations do not lack in substance.
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